Hip-Hop is a type of musical genre that has been around since the late '70s and early '80s. It started off underground but reached mainstream when NWA came out in 1987 with their debut album. Since then the genre has gotten a bad rap for it only being about sex, drugs, violence, and misogynistic themes since those songs only get radio play and popularity, But this is not true, and i know this is a fact by doing research and listening to enough of the genre.
What real hip-hop is (at least to what my definition of real hip-hop is) music that discusses real life things such as social issues, politics, ones own life, knowledge and other important things along with fun party songs that are not radio and new which always has been about from the beginning. Other than it being a great genre with the topics I listed, it is great for it's use of rhymes, metaphors, poetry in general, flow, and knowledge on certain things mostly the community you grew up in. Poetry in musical form is one of the most genius ideas that I have ever heard and made me get into poetry. When I was pre-17, I judged hip-hop from what I've heard on the radio but when I came across old school 'hip-hop and underground hip-hop, I had a change in my mind and became one of my favorite musical genres.
As many of us know the mainstream media is corrupt and tells lies to people by hiding the truth about things. But in order to get past the mainstream, you have to do research on a specific genre to see if it's really what the media makes it out to be, Some songs that I recommend are: "The World is Yours" by Nas, "Changes" by 2pac, "When I Be On Da Mic" by Rakim, MC's "Act Like They Don't Know" by KRS-One, and "CREAM" by WU-Tang Clan. Artists i recommend you listen to are: 2pac, Nas, Lupe Fiasco, Kendrick Lamar, J, Cole, Eminem, Talib Kweli, Immortal Technique, The Roots, and A Tribe Called Quest. Albums that you should listen to are: "Illmatic" by Nas, "Me Against the World" by 2pac, "The Eminem Show" by Eminem, "36 Chambers" by Wu-Tang Clan, "To Pimp a Butterfly" by Kendrick Lamar, 2014 Forest Hills Drive by J. Cole, and Food and Liquor 1 by Lupe Fiasco,
Lastly, here are some of my favorite rappers:
2Pac
To me he is the greatest rapper that ever lived. His lyrics and messages reach to people and shows us how he's feeling and what he's going through. He knew how to write poetry and even though he went through gang life in LA, he showed us that a gangster had feelings and that he was able to send a good message to people unlike most gangsta rappers. My favorite song from him is changes because of the great message. My favorite album from him is "Me Against The World" because the production is great and he's telling us what he's going through at the time.
Nas
He is one of the greatest rappers to ever hold the mic. He is the best storyteller in hip-hop and does an excellent job at telling stories in his songs which makes them interesting, and that is a big part of hip-hop. Besides the storytelling, he has shown a great amount of knowledge and lyricism in his music which is another big part of the hip-hop genre. My favorite song from him is "NY State of Mind" because of the lyricism and flow. My favorite album from him is "Illmatic" because of the knowledge, lyricism, production, and storytelling and it is considered the best hip-hop album of all time.
The Notorious B.I.G.
What I think is great about Biggie Smalls is his amazing flow, delivery, and persona. Even though I may not like some of his lyrical content, I think his flow makes up for all of that. His gangster character in my opinion was genius and makes me think that i'm watching an action movie. My favorite song from him is "Juicy" because of the rhyming and lyrics. My favorite album from him is "Life After Death" because it has tons of good tracks and it was released shortly after his death
Eminem
Now I know many think that he is the best rapper alive, but I disagree; I think he's one of the greatest. Other than his skin color and looks, I like him for his wordplay and rhyming skills; they are amazing and he can rhyme anything. I love his wit, meaning he has the ability to do anything from meaningful songs, funny songs, serious songs, freestyles, and other types. My favorite song from him is "Lose Yourself" because of the lyrics and message and to me it's the greatest rap song ever and my favorite song in general. My favorite album from him is "The Eminem Show" because of the meaningful lyrics, the production, and it's not edgy like his album before. The only thing I don't like about him is that he can be disgusting at times.
Jay-Z
In my opinion he has dope bars, flow, and beats. His production on his albums are some of the best and his bars are excellent. My favorite song from him is "99 Problems" because of the guitar riff and lyricism. My favorite album from him is "The Blueprint 1" because of the production, bars, and flow. What I don't like about him is that he can be annoying to listen to at times and the reference to himself as God in some songs.
